


"Rest, Goddamn It"

by Vyce



Category: The Creatures (Youtube RPF)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Other, Sickfic, cute arguing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-26
Updated: 2014-08-26
Packaged: 2018-02-14 20:23:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2201880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vyce/pseuds/Vyce
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Request from CCPUNK) James seems to have caught a cold after spending too much time outside during the dead of Winter, and it's up to Aleks to get him to rest up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	"Rest, Goddamn It"

Movie nights were always an enjoyable event for the Creatures, even in the dead of Winter, but sometimes there were consequences that could not be avoided nor ignored. They came as they pleased, and did as much potential damage as they could at a time to render a person immobile. Even so, it didn't bring down any of the Creatures. They still went about their daily tasks and work irregardless of their well-being. Afterall... they had a job and reputation to keep up, and how could that be done if they weren't around? People might start asking questions.   
James, Seamus, Aleks and Jordan had just gotten out of the theatre, walking down the middle of the snow-coated asphalt parking lot to the SUV dedicated for movie-night outings. Jordan decided to be the film-man for the reviews of the movie, first turning to Aleks. Hands deep in his pockets and shoulders raised, he bounced on the spot as he gave his review for the movie. 

"I'd give it three stars. Worth the trip out here, but at the same time, I probably wouldn't watch it again. Just one of those things you can only take once." he said and Jordan turned the camera to James next, Aleks adjusting his grey beanie. James' and Seamus' reviews were quick and to the point--though James could barely be heard-- and once done, Jordan turned the camera towards himself, giving his own review along with the others'. After a few minutes, James had turned away and sneezed once, then again, and one more time, groaning. His friends figured it was just a bit of a tickle and nothing more, so they got into the SUV without another word. 

"Do you want me to just drive you two home, or did you want to stop by another place?" Jordan asked James and Aleks who were in the back, pulling out of the lot and onto the adjacent street.   
"I'm kind of tired," James replied. "I mean if you want to go somewhere, Aleks, we can. I just won't be too enthusiastic about it." 

Aleks glanced at his elder friend beside him for a moment, thinking and deciding as he looked back up to Jordan. 

"Yeah, take us home. I'm tired, too."

It was only ten in the evening, but sometimes Winter gave people a sort of "jet lag" - the earlier nights could easily mess up a person's circadian rhythm.   
As requested, Jordan headed West towards the house James and Aleks shared. The drive was quiet; no talking, no radio, no obnoxious noises inspired from boredom. Only silence. It was achingly loud but nobody wanted to break it. Instead, they dealt with it, the four men quieter than they had ever been. You could almost question if they'd fallen asleep.  
Just over fifteen minutes later, Jordan pulled up in front of the house, slowing to a stop and turning around to face the two in the backseat. James' head was down as he unbuckled himself and reached for the door handle, Aleks taking his time and facing Jordan and then Seamus, who had also turned himself around. 

"Well boys, here we are. Thanks for coming with us tonight. See you tomorrow?" Jordan said.   
"No problem, man. And yeah, we'll be there tomorrow. Bye guys." Aleks responded, unbuckling his seatbelt and turning to James as he blindly reached for his own door handle, but the elder had already gotten out of the vehicle. He didn't say anything as he shut the door and walked around the back of the vehicle to the sidewalk, he only waved briefly as he made his way up to the house. Aleks nodded in farewell as the SUV pulled away and continued down the dark street, slush spewing from behind the back wheels.   
Aleks skipped a few steps up to the house to catch up with his friend, who wasn't stopping for anybody, it seemed. He called out to him as he unlocked the front door and went inside, ignoring Aleks. The younger followed quickly behind, stomping his shoes outside the door to get any remaining snow off of them before stepping inside and shutting the door, locking it again. 

"James." he called again, with no response. "James!" 

Aleks reached out and grabbed James' shoulder, turning him. Upon seeing him in the lit up foyer, he could see that his nose was red and he did indeed look very tired. He sniffled, not carrying any particular expression as he looked down at his younger friend. 

"Dude, what's with you tonight? You didn't say goodbye, you've ignored me twice, you keep walking away - what's going on?" Aleks asked. He wasn't one to ask about things but this wasn't like James. He never behaved like this. 

It looked like he was about to say something but instead swallowed and looked away. Aleks gave him a moment to speak and after a minute or so, he opened his mouth again, inhaling sharply. 

"I didn't want you to hear my voice." he said. On any other day, this would have sounded absolutely ridiculous, but James sounded nasally. He must've caught a cold or something, which explained the sneezes from earlier. When was he outside long enough to catch one, though? Or... who was he around that was sick? 

"Oh. Why, what's wrong with me hearing your voice? I get that you sound sick but come on." Aleks chuckled. "Since when have you worried about what you sounded like?"   
"Since I got sick."  
"James, it's a cold. It's not like you sound like some wretched beast. Well actually, you do," Aleks chuckled again, teasing his friend. "But you know what I mean."

James stood still, the two staring at each other. 

"If it's that big of a deal to you, I won't talk to you, then. Go to bed and rest up. Maybe you'll sound better in the morning."  
"Maybe..." James said, mockingly, and took off his coat and adjusted his hoodie before turning around and going up the stairs without another word. Aleks thought he might come back down, but he never did. 

In the quiet of the practically empty space, Aleks sighed after having sat in the unused living room for an hour before going upstairs, legs heavy. He glanced towards James' closed bedroom door for a moment before continuing on his way to his own room, quietly shutting the door.   
When he was out of his clothes that day and only in boxers, he sat on the edge of his bed, thinking about the movie they'd seen that night, and about James' cold. If it wasn't any better by tomorrow, he'd have to record with a nasally voice, but... James was more uneasy than ever before about his "sick voice". Perhaps, for the first time ever, he'd call in sick.   
Giving up on trying to come up with a plan, Aleks laid back, the overhead light already turned off as he sighed once more and closed his eyes. 

\--

The morning came a lot sooner than expected for James, and it was made clear that his few hours of sleep had failed him. His body was stiff and his head was pounding, nose blocked up completely. He wanted to go back to sleep but his body wouldn't let him anymore. Sitting up, he realized he'd just made a mistake. The headache he had increased in strength and spread to his ears and he moaned in misery, voice a lot more nasally than the night before. It sounded like someone was pinching his nose.   
He lazily climbed out of bed, leaving it unmade as he took off to the bathroom, stumbling on his way. _How the hell can one night of sleep make me feel so much worse? I thought you were supposed to rest up to cure a cold, not worsen it._  
James had forgotten that things must get worse before they could better. He stood before the mirror in the bathroom after doing his business, mouth ajar in distaste of his own face. His face was pale, aside from the Rudolph red nose and the dark circles beneath his eyes. He looked dull, which just made him angry. Before the headache had a chance to get worse, if that was even possible at this point, he found the ibuprofen in the medicine cabinet and took a pill, hoping it might put a dent in his pain.

"I can't go in like this." he said to himself, that pinched-nose sound resonating painfully in his aching ears. Changing his position to vertical must have altered something in his nose, because it had started to clear up, but it had also started to run, which wasn't much better. Against his will, he huffed as he reached for a Kleenex to blow his nose. A little better.   
Upon opening the bathroom door, he watched Aleks emerge from his own bedroom, rubbing his eyes, still clad only in blue boxers. James wanted to run and hide, feeling more self-conscious about his sickly appearance than the night before, but it had become such a routine to somehow wake at the same time and greet each other that he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Morning, James. Feeling any better?" Aleks asked, voice husky. His brown hair was a beautiful mess.   
"No..." James mumbled, shaking his head. He had a perfect pout going on which almost made Aleks laugh, but he thought better of it.   
"Say something else." Aleks said, getting closer. James shook his head again and upon getting closer, Aleks could now clearly see his friend's disheleved appearance, worse than the previous night.   
"Speak, Rudolph." he teased, but it wasn't a good time for teasing at all. James clicked his tongue and stormed past Aleks as best he could without worsening his aches and went downstairs. Aleks called after him, but like before, he just kept walking. Fine - he'd apologize after. 

James had been sitting alone in the kitchen for around ten minutes, poking at his Cheerios with his spoon, no real intention of eating any of it. It was just a natural thing by now to get some kind of food upon waking, even if he wasn't hungry. His eyes looked more sunken than they had when he first woke up, a dull darkness filling what was once dark brown irises. He ached still, and he felt horrible, but he wasn't about to say anything about it to Aleks, though it was pretty clear just by looking at him.  
Half an hour went by before Aleks finished getting himself ready upstairs and came down, joining James in the kitchen. His cereal was soggy now, having been poking at it incessantly and still failing to eat any of it. Aleks noticed this, seeing as his bowl was mush and not the original O shape the Cheerios held. Silence ensued as he stared in disbelief at his friend's bowl of uneaten cereal before stepping past him to get himself some toast, making an extra slice for James. Maybe if he bugged him about it, he'd eat.   
He took a seat across the small table from James, watching him every few seconds while he took a bite of his toast. His friend hadn't lifted his head at all, or done anything but continue to poke poke poke.

"James." Aleks said, staring. "I know you're sick, okay? I'm sorry about the stupid joke I made upstairs. But, you know, you have to eat if you want to get better."  
"..No." That was something. Not a good response, but a response nonetheless.   
"No what? James, you have to eat. Here, have some toast if you won't eat your cereal, which by the way looks nasty now." Aleks said, sliding the extra toast across the table to the sniffling man opposite of him. He didn't take the toast or respond.

"Please. I don't want you feeling worse than you have to." 

That did it. James lifted his head just enough to look up at Aleks and sighed, accepting the toast. He didn't expect to keep it down, but he could at least try. It wasn't often that Aleks actually used manners, so he figured he might as well respond to it positively than ignore him anymore.

"Thanks." he mumbled. He started to eat, but as suspected, the food wasn't going to stay down. James began to cough, which just made his nose run more. As he coughed, he could feel his stomach turning, its contents spiraling upwards as rejection. His face went pale again as he rose from the table and ran out of the kitchen and to the first floor bathroom, throwing up only two bites of the toast that was made for him. Aleks followed after him, abandoning his own food to check on James. He was still kneeling on the floor in front of the toilet when Aleks caught up to him.   
Doing the first thing he thought might help, Aleks rubbed James' back for a moment before grabbing two cloths, soaking one with cold water, one with warm. When James sat back, Aleks leaned over and used the warm cloth to wipe his mouth of any stray bile before discarding it, holding the cold cloth up to his forehead. 

"You can't go to work like this, James."  
"But I have to."   
"No you don't. You're staying home and I'm staying with you."  
"No you're fucking not! You go and I'll go. We have to put out videos, everyday."  
"Not like this, you're not. I'm not arguing with you, James. You're staying home to rest and I'll be here with you to make sure you don't die or something, and that's all there is to it."

James looked away, staring at whatever he could to avoid looking at Aleks. He didn't like anybody pitying him, which is what Aleks was doing, it seemed. A moment later, he pushed Aleks away to get the cloth back off his forehead and struggled to get up, exiting the bathroom before Aleks could stop him.   
Aleks wasn't having any of this bullshit, however - he followed after James as he was making his way upstairs, storming up after him. Once on the second floor again, he grabbed his arm firmly, not saying a word. He moved ahead of James and started pulling him towards James' bedroom. James was mumbling things again, trying to pull away but with no success. Once in the room, Aleks kicked the door shut and stood in front of it, letting go of James and pointing at the bed angrily.

"Go lay down."  
"No."  
"Lay. Down."  
"Make me."  
"You don't want me to, James. Lay the fuck down. You need to rest."  
"I'm not fucking sleeping anymore, Aleks. Get out of my room. We're going to the office."

James walked back over to Aleks and tried reaching past his crossed arms to grab the handle and open the door to leave, but Aleks leaned back into the door, keeping it shut. The two glared at each other, immaturity settling in, mixed with somebody actually giving a damn about the other. 

"Move. I swear to God, Aleks, you better fucking move." Aleks could barely take him seriously with that funny voice.  
"I'm not going anywhere until you get back into bed."  
"For fuck's sake!"

James tried to pull the door open again but Aleks stopped him, and thus, a fight commenced. Aleks wasn't trying to hurt his friend, he just wanted him to listen for once and stop being so stubborn. The two pushed against each other, James trying to get out and Aleks trying to keep him in. On any other day, James might have topped Aleks but colds sometimes got the best of people and weakened them; James couldn't fight back very well.  
Eventually, James stopped fighting and his body stilled, limbs going numb and Aleks simply held him. It was subtle, maybe a bit too much, but he needed James to know he wasn't joking about this. He hugged the taller man to further calm him down before loosening his grip and giving him some space. He glanced towards the bed again. James lowered his brow, frowning. Aleks raised his eyebrows in response, ceasing to blink as he stared James in the eye. 

"Fine."

That was the last thing James said to Aleks as he turned and got back into bed, turning onto his side and pulling the covers up to hide his face. He was angry, but he also wanted to cry, for reasons unknown. It took forever in his mind for Aleks to leave the room again, but when he did, James pushed the blankets away and looked over to the door, rubbing his eyes red. He might as well go with it... he wasn't up to arguing or fighting again. 

\--

Three days had passed since that day, and neither of the two men were talking to each other. James was doing as told and staying in his room, Aleks was still staying home from the office to look after him, though he still recorded what he could. He checked on James' videos only to see the comment section flooding with half the people demanding new videos, the other half asking what happened to James. They'd just have to wait for new content.  
It was nearly six in the evening now, and Aleks was just finishing up a recording, the final episode of a game series. He prepared its upload to YouTube and typed in the description, rubbing his eyes and yawning afterwards. It was hard to sleep when your mind was clouded with worry. He leaned back in his chair for awhile before getting up, leaving the video to upload while he went to check on James again. He hoped he'd have something to say by now, but there was no guarantee. He was probably still pissed about being forced to stay home from work because of a stupid ol' cold.   
In the hall, as he moved past the stairs and towards James' room, he heard coughing and swearing. _He's probably feeling like absolute shit... I should've been paying more attention_ Aleks thought to himself, taking the blame for something he couldn't even control. He lifted his hand to knock on the door thrice before opening the door, the coughing continuing.   
James was half sitting up, half leaning over the side of the bed, holding his chest and hacking away. As Aleks stepped around the side of the bed, he could see an empty Kleenex box, the floor littered with used tissues and in the opposite corner, a cup tipped over. James must have thrown it. 

"Let me get you some water," Aleks said, leaving again to get a fresh glass of water from the bathroom. He brought it back to James, who had thankfully stopped coughing finally. James took the glass from him angrily, almost spilling it and sipped at it, downing the whole thing in seconds. He gasped for air after he set the glass down in his lap, having sat back up. 

"You look horrible."  
"Yeah, thanks. That's exactly what I want to hear."

James' voice was quiet, weak - and his nose was redder, the tip raw from frequent nose-blowing. He had taken off his clothing from two days prior and was now wearing an old loose t-shirt, the sleeves rolled up to this shoulders. He put the glass down on the bedside table and looked up at Aleks. Before another word could be said, James' stomach growled. _He hasn't eaten, has he?_

"Do you want some soup?"  
"No."  
"Stop being stubborn. You've been in here for three days, you need to eat something."  
"You told me to fucking stay here!"  
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you can just skip meals! You're not going to get any better if you carry on like that. I'm going to make you some soup."  
"You're-- Aleksandr! Get back here!" 

Aleks had marched out of the room at his declaration and was already on his way downstairs, James' door still open.   
In the kitchen, Aleks checked the cupboards. He had to dig around a bit to find a package of Lipton's chicken noodle soup in the back. Luckily, it wasn't yet expired, so he took it out of the cupboard and filled a pot with hot water, pouring the packaged contents into it and setting it down on the stove. He took a seat at the round table, watching the stove and waiting. People always said "a watched pot never boils" but what else was he going to do? If he left, it'd probably boil over. If he closed his eyes, it'd probably boil over. That's how it always seemed to work - watch the pot, it won't boil, but if you look away, it boils over. Nothing made sense to Aleks when it came to cooking but he had to do this. He couldn't leave a sick friend to starve to death.  
After a good amount of time, he stood to stir the soup, seeing that the noodles were mostly cooked, and he heard shuffling out in the hallway. It was James, disobeying the Russian's orders and coming after him.   
He stepped into the kitchen, slouching, staring tiredly at his personal chef. He sat down at the table where Aleks sat three days prior, and crossed his arms over the table, watching Aleks stir away. 

"Goddamn." he said as Aleks grabbed a ladel and spooned it into a bowl, the scent wafting through the air towards James. His stomach growled again as Aleks turned and set the bowl down in front of the sickly one.   
"It.. might not be very good. But at least it's something." Aleks said, sitting down with James.   
"Well... thank you." James said, finally giving in to Aleks' help--at least for now, anyway. He drank a spoonful of soup, then another, and another. He didn't stop until he'd finished most of the bowl, looking up at Aleks, who was staring off into space. 

"Aleks, I appreciate this. I know I've been a dick to you but I just don't like people pitying me." James said. It took a minute for Aleks to snap back into reality and respond. His sudden change of mood made him think of the Snickers bar commercial - James wasn't himself when he hadn't eaten.  
"I'm not pitying you, I'm helping you. You're sick, I'm not. It only makes sense to do for you what you can't do yourself."   
"Who's to say I can't make myself soup?"  
"Me."  
"And you know everything?"  
"In this situation? Yeah, I do."

He finally turned his head to look at James, chin resting in one hand lazily. He looked tired, like he wasn't sleeping as much as James wasn't. James sipped away at the rest of the soup and sighed, staring blankly at the table and furrowing his brows after a moment. He rubbed the back of his hand against his forehead, beads of sweat coming with it. A fever was starting... 

"Listen, thanks for the soup, Aleks. I... I think I'm going to go lay down again. If..." 

His voice was cutting off and his lips were turning to a shade of light pink as his eyes moved around the room slowly. 

"If you want to help, um... take my phone and... tell people on Twitter why I'm not p-" 

His eyes shut briefly and he started breathing heavier. 

"Not posting videos."

His speech had begun to slur and he was having trouble staying upright in his chair. He was already too far gone to notice Aleks had prepared to stand up at any second, watching James with fear. 

"I... um... s-... 'm passing ouuu... can't breeaa.."

James started to slip to the right out of his chair and Aleks got up to catch him before it was too late. He called out his name but James' eyes had shut again and he wasn't speaking--or slurring--anymore. His mouth was ajar, his lips and face were a sickly shade of off-white and sweat was forming rapidly on his face and down his neck. His body's internal furnace had been overloaded with logs of wood and matches; he was burning up fast, the heat seeping through his clothes.  
Aleks did the only thing he knew to do, which was hold him and gently slap his hand against James' face, calling him repeatedly, hoping for him to wake up, but it wasn't working. He was out, and he didn't look like he was going to wake up any time soon. 

"Oh my God. James." 

An anxiety attack was starting to take over Aleks' own sanity, washing over him and swallowing him whole. He got up from the floor as adrenaline kicked in and he managed to lift James. His body was limp, but he wrapped James' arm around his neck and held onto his hand tightly, his other hand around James' waist as he pulled him out into the hallway, James' feet dragging like deadweight behind him.  
After a bit of trouble, Aleks had somehow found a way to get James back upstairs and into his room. He was losing oxygen, exhausted, and wanted to curl up in a corner and cry until the anxiety went away, but he wasn't going to stop until his friend was okay. He wasn't going to stop until James was back to normal; as normal as he could get right now, anyway.   
When he as a kid, Aleks remembered being tucked in tightly when he had a fever, the locked-in heat somehow breaking the fever after intense sweating, and he did exactly that for James. He got him onto the bed, and pulled the covers up to his chin, tucking him in tightly, keeping all the burning heat inside with him like a coffin set aflame. James wasn't moving, but he was emitting weak moaning sounds.   
Aleks left to get a new cold cloth, holding it beneath the numbing water until he was sure it was as cold as he could get it without tossing it into an ice bath for an hour or two. He made sure to bring what little cold medicine that they had left in the cabinet as he exited the bathroom. Upon returning to the room, it looked like James was stirring in his sleep, probably dreaming of being stuck in a pit of Hell, and he was starting to hyperventilate. Aleks would have, too, but his well-being wasn't a priority. James' was. He had to hold off the attack as long as he could.  
He stumbled over to the bedside and set the cloth down on the elder's forehead with shaky hands, re-tucking him in and standing over him like a guardian angel for awhile. It felt like forever had passed as he remained there, watching James go through this struggle, head turning left and right while he gasped for air every once in awhile. Aleks tried to read the bottle, but his vision was blurring, so he made a hasty decision to just pour a bit of the magenta liquid into James' mouth, slowly, so he wouldn't choke. He watched his throat for a moment, and when he swallowed, Aleks was relieved. That might help him.   
Eventually couldn't stand anymore, collapsing to the floor. He leaned against the bedside table, trying to face James, but the anxiety, adrenaline and fatigue that had been weighing him down took its toll, and Aleks fell asleep, hardly a foot away from his friend. He didn't care if he caught the cold from James - he wasn't leaving him alone. 

Time passed. How much, no one really knew, but it was dark outside and the house was quiet. James was lying awake in his bed, the once-cold cloth now hot from James' fever and just barely damp. He turned his head, hearing soft breathing that was not his own. The cloth slipped away from his forehead onto his pillow as he peeked over the edge of the bed. Aleks was sitting there, his head resting on the side of the mattress, asleep. James watched him and smiled. Because of Aleks, he was getting better. Because of Aleks, his wretched fever had broke. Because of Aleks, he didn't pass out and hit his head on the kitchen floor. Because of Aleks, he didn't have to go through this alone. And for that, he was grateful.  
Moving his arm around to loosen the blanket tucked beneath his sides, James slipped his hand out from underneath the covers and reached down the side of the bed. His fingers brushed against Aleks' skin, and the instant the connection was made, Aleks moved in his sleep, moving his hand up the side of the bed towards James as if to check if he were still there. When he could reach it, James took his hand and held it. It might've been a bit awkward, but if it weren't for his friend, James would be a lot worse off right now. Besides... who ever said holding a person's hand was for couples only?   
A long time passed as they stay like that - James holding Aleks' hand, Aleks now peacefully asleep albeit on the floor, the two of them calmly together. It wouldn't last forever, James knew that. But for now, he was happy. His best friend was with him, it was quiet for once, his fever was gone thanks to that best friend, and he was holding someone's hand for the first time in forever and it felt right. It all felt right, despite stray thoughts like "What will Aleks think of this", "what will the others think of this" and "what if this is actually screwing things up". So, he decided to let it happen. He wasn't letting go of Aleks just as Aleks wasn't leaving James alone in his miserable state. You'd have to sever his hand if you wanted them loose, but even then, he'd find a way to keep that hand holding on. 

When Aleks had awoken, he noticed that his hand was interlocked with the other man's, and he immediately stood up to see if he was okay, careful not to let go. He thought something might've been wrong if the person who had just been pissed off at him was suddenly holding his hand, but to his surprise, nothing was.   
James lay there, still, a smile on his face as he turned to look at Aleks. It took a moment for Aleks to calm himself again, checking vital signs and seeing nothing. He held his free hand to James' forehead and sighed softly. His fever had since long ago broke, all traces of sweat were gone, his nose wasn't so red anymore, and the colour had returned to his once-pale face. He looked healthy again.

"Um... feeling better?" Aleks managed to choke out, struggling to find his voice. James nodded. They were still holding hands.  
"Thanks to you. I'm sorry for my bitchiness - you bring out the worst, and the best in me, you know that?"

Aleks chuckled and looked down to the floor. When the grip on his hand tightened, he looked back up. James' smile was gone and he was simply staring, his eyes a message but what of, Aleks didn't know for sure. 

"Come here, Aleksandr." James said. Aleks didn't know what that meant, so he furrowed his brow in confusion and stayed still. James sat up as best he could and lifted one arm, freeing his hand and lifting the other arm. _A hug._ Aleks sighed in relief, smiling as he leaned down and hugged his friend, trying not to fall onto him in this awkward sitting-and-standing position. He could feel James' beard scratching against his neck, his arms tightly around him. 

"Thanks for being here for me. I appreciate it - I really do." James said, his voice muffled into Aleks' shoulder. His breath hit the back of Aleks' neck as he spoke and he closed his eyes. For just a moment, they were being real friends who visibly cared about each other for once. For just a moment, Aleks found a sense of peace.   
James was the first to pull away, patting Aleks' back before he let go of him. Aleks sat down on the bed next to him, hoping to extend this tender encounter for just a second longer, and the two smiled at one another. James looked down, smile twisting into a smirk and he chuckled, looking back up at Aleks with the same old conniving expression James held when he was in the midst of teasing somebody. He was back. James was back to himself again. 

"So what do you say you let me out of this room and we record something, huh?" he asked. Aleks' smile left his face and he held up his index finger, pointing at James and voicing a stern "no" before breaking into a fit of laughter, his friend joining him.   
As Aleks was getting ready to leave James' room and head back to his own for a proper sleep--not to say the nap in James' room wasn't nice--he stopped in the doorway, turning to James as he held the door. His smile was there again and Aleks saw for the first time, what he cherished most. Expression softening, he smiled back.

"Go to sleep and we'll make a video tomorrow." he said.   
"Promise?" James asked, puppy dog eyes gazing at him with hope that he knew would be fulfilled.   
"Promise." 

That smile grew wider and Aleks watched him for a moment before leaving the room and closing the door quietly behind himself. Yes, they would record tomorrow. It was a promise Aleks made, and a promise he wouldn't break. Besides... he missed recording with James. He was his best friend, after all, and what were best friends for than to bug each other, care for each other, and record ridiculous gaming videos together?

**Author's Note:**

> A reversed version of my other story, Sweet Dreams. James is sick this time and Aleks has to take care of him. (This is really long and I feel like a lot more details could have been added - I may edit it later)


End file.
